Brodie family

The core Brodie family (L-R: Adeeb, Leyla, Conor, Michael, Nicole)

The Brodie family are a fictional family from the BBC One Scotland soap opera River City, that appeared on-screen from 2010 onwards.

Creation

On 1 September 2010, ATV News Network announced that a new mixed-race family would join River City.^[1] The family were collectively introduced by the show’s executive producer Gaynor Holmes, and debuted on-screen throughout October and November.^[1][2]

The family consisting of patriarch Michael Brodie (played by Andy Clark), his son and daughter, Conor (Rian John Gordon) and Nicole (Holly Jack), his wife Leyla (Maryam Hamidi), her son Adeeb (Taryam Boyd) and Michael’s brothers Gabriel (Garry Sweeney) and Leo (Nick Rhys) all moved to the show’s fictional setting of Shieldinch.^[1][3] Speaking of the family, Holmes stated: "We're absolutely delighted to be welcoming Andy Clark, Garry Sweeney, Nick Rhys and Maryam Hamidi to River City. They're certainly going to shake things up in Shieldinch with some exciting upcoming stories. It is a real testament to the show’s popularity that it continues to attract such strong acting talent."^[1]

Gabriel Brodie

Gabriel "Gabe" Brodie, played by Garry Sweeney, is the brother of Michael (Andy Clark) and Leo (Nick Rhys). He made his first on-screen appearance on 5 October 2010.^[4] The character's profile on the official River City website describes him as a "ball of energy", getting through life with his charm and quick thinking.^[5] Speaking of his casting, Sweeney said, "It’s a joy to be part of the cast and to play such a larger-than-life character like Gabriel. He is so much fun to play – always ducking and diving – but also seems to have a real heart of gold."^[1]

Gabriel arrives in Shieldinch and breaks into 11 Montego Street, putting a post-it note in the fridge with "found you" on it. Later, he sets up his stall outside Versus annoying Fraser Crozier (Neil McNulty) who is going to rent Versus. He breaks into the premises and moves his stock in and calls the letting agents. Later, he asks Stella Walker (Keira Lucchesi) to lock herself in so he can meet with the estate agent. When he meets the agent he tells him he doesn’t have all of the deposit, and the agent refuses to let the premises. He later gets all of the deposit. After another disagreement, Fraser calls the police and reports Gabriel for selling stolen goods, but when the police search Versus they find Fraser’s goods that have already been reported as stolen and Gabriel’s are legitimate. He then gives the agent the deposit for Versus. As of May 2014, he is the last Brodie remaining on the show. Gabriel officially departed in late 2015, he returned for Malcolm Hamilton's (Johnny Beattie) funeral in March 2016. He departed in April but soon returned again in the summer to help Stevie Burns (Paul-James Corrigan), Gabriel returned full time in July as Kelly Marie-Adams (Carmen Pieraccini) announced she was pregnant with his child. Gabriel was attacked by Alex Murdoch (Jordan Young) and was then put in hospital but managed to survive.

Michael Brodie

Doctor Michael "Mike" Brodie, played by Andy Clark, is the husband of Leyla (Maryam Hamidi) and father of Conor (Rian John Gordon) and Nicole (Holly Jack). He made his first on-screen appearance on 5 October 2010.^[4] He follows on from Doctors Vinnie (Archie Lal) and Alisha Shah (Meneka Das), Mai Lau (Jaclyn Tse), Samira Amari (Samia Rida) and Marianne McKee (Frances Grey) as the soap's resident general practitioner. The character's profile on the official River City website describes him as "uptight and regimented".^[6] Speaking of his casting, Clark said, "I'm delighted to be joining the cast of River City. It's great to be playing a good guy for once as I’ve played a lot of baddies in my time. Michael is a real family guy and it'll be interesting to see how his character develops."^[1]

Michael arrives in Shieldinch and inspects 11 Montego Street, which he has bought. He opens the fridge to store a bottle of champagne and finds a post-it note with "found you" on it, which Gabriel has put there. When leaving the house, he asks Stella Walker (Keira Lucchesi) where Gabriel is and walks away. He tells Gabriel that he does not want any trouble as the family is making a fresh start. Michael then returns home to pack up the rest of the family's belongings. Michael receives a phone call from his ex-wife Chloe and has to go to see her. She tells him that she is moving to Canada and that Conor and Nicole will have to stay with him. Later, Michael finds out that Nicole has been seeing Charlie Bowie (Ryan Smith) and he angrily confronts him, but Nicole admits that Charlie refused to see her after he discovered her age. He then apologizes to Charlie for his behaviour. Michael diagnoses Scarlett Mullen (Sally Howitt) with ovarian cancer. When Scarlett will not tell her family, Michael puts her medical records on the floor of the surgery and lies to Scarlett's mother and cleaner Molly O'Hara (Una McLean) asking her to clear a chemical spillage. Molly finds the medical records and reads them, discovering Scarlett has cancer. Later, Michael helps Scarlett when she becomes ill and goes to the hospital with her.

Leyla Brodie

Leyla Brodie, played by Maryam Hamidi, is the wife of Michael (Andy Clark) and mother of Adeeb Brodie (Taryam Boyd). She made her first on-screen appearance on 12 October 2010.^[7] ATV describes her as a "modern Muslim". She has also been described as "pushy".^[8] Speaking of her casting, Hamidi said, "Family set-ups are never that simple in our society and hopefully the journey our new family is going on will be one a lot of modern and multi-cultural families can relate to. I really enjoy the verve and spirit of River City, but hope the Brodies are going to offer Shieldinch a little class and sophistication."^[1]

Leyla arrives in Shieldinch with Michael and Adeeb. She tells Michael she is fine with leaving university to become his receptionist at The Health Centre. Later, Leyla clashes with Molly O'Hara (Una McLean) when she mistakes her for a doctor and explains she doesn't have a problem with her ethnic background. She is horrified to see Michael’s brother Gabriel (Garry Sweeney) and tells Michael that he is dependent on him. Leyla continues to struggle working at the surgery and drops a pile of patients’ files on the floor. Whilst picking them up, she misses the note which nurse Ruth Carroll (Morag Calder) had placed on one of them for allergies relating to flu injections. When patient Mr Stewart (Jackie Farrell) falls ill from the injection, Ruth’s professionalism is questioned and she is sent home by Michael. Leyla then finds the note on the floor but hides it. When Ruth and Leyla help Grayson who has collapsed in the street, Ruth panics as she is trying to help him. She tells Leyla she is worried she will make another mistake, but Leyla tells her that Mr Stewart's collapsing was not her fault. Ruth asks Leyla why the incident was not her fault and Leyla admits that she found the note from the file, but did not tell Michael. Leyla also tells Michael that the incident was not Ruth's fault.

Adeeb Brodie

Adeeb Brodie, played by Taryam Boyd, is the son of Leyla Brodie (Maryam Hamidi). He made his first on-screen appearance on 12 October 2010.^[7] ATV describes him as an "intelligent kid" who takes his real dad’s Iraqi heritage very seriously.^[1]

Adeeb arrives in Shieldinch with Leyla and stepfather Michael Brodie (Andy Clark) and moves into 11 Montego Street. When Adeeb begins to spend more time on his laptop, Leyla assumes that he is watching pornography. Adeeb explains to Michael that he wants to move to Iraq because he feels he does not belong in Scotland. Michael tells Leyla and she agrees to take Adeeb to Iraq for a holiday.

Nicole Brodie

Nicole Brodie, played by Holly Jack, is the daughter of Michael (Andy Clark) and the sister of Conor (Rian John Gordon). She made her first on-screen appearance on 12 October 2010.^[7] ATV describes her as "14 going on 40".^[1] Speaking of her casting, Jack said, "I think they [her parents] were happier than me when I got the part. My mum was screaming down the phone. I think she nearly had a heart attack."^[3]

Nicole is first seen shopping in Hola boutique where she meets Charlie Bowie (Ryan Smith), who thinks she is older than she really is. Nicole flirts with Charlie and gives him her phone number. She later truants from school and visits Charlie. Nicole later arranges a date with Charlie, telling Michael she feels too ill to go to school. When Nicole kisses Charlie, Annie Sobacz (Reanne Farley) stops her and tells Charlie that Nicole is a school girl. Nicole then turns up at Charlie’s flat and he tells her that he knows she is still at school. She tells Charlie that they can have a secret relationship and that age is not important. After Michael asks her if she is in a relationship with someone, Nicole tells him that she was seeing Charlie. Michael angrily confronts Charlie, thinking he is a pervert, but Charlie tells him he thought Nicole was a college student. When Michael asks for the truth, Nicole admits that Charlie refused to see her after he discovered her age. Nicole then fell for school mate Sean but her friend Carmen also liked him thus pitting each girl against the other. When Nicole embarrasses Carmen in front of Sean, Carmen begins a bullying campaign against her that outlasts Nicole's feelings for Sean. Vulnerable, frightened and lonely, Nicole turns to Councillor Nick Morrison for emotional support. Her affection for Nick begins to grow and turns to love after he saves her from a physical attack at the hands of the school bullies. Mistaking his gentle care for requited feelings of love, Nicole tries to kiss Nick and he pushes her away but there is no denying a connection between them. Eventually finding out about Nicole and Nick, Michael and Layla flips out which in turn pushes Nicole away even further from the family, annoyed that her father still treats her like a child and not approving of any boy she intends on seeing even Stevie who has a drug and alcohol problem. Eventually Nicole finds out about her stepmother's affair with her uncle Gabriel. This is the last straw for Nicole and she runs away from home. She falls into a bad crowd with a guy named Cammie who lures and grooms her to sell on to wealthy clients, while also finding the time to threaten and blackmail her teen pal, Christina. She is eventually helped out by one of Cammie's girls who advises her to get out even though she has no way of doing the same for herself. Nicole gets away and makes her way home after weeks of being gone, and a search by friends,family and police. She arrives home and tells the truth to her father of why she ran away, which prompts Michael to have a meltdown with Layla and disown his brother Gabriel. In 2013, Nicole gives birth to a daughter called Grace. She struggles to be a young single mum and considers putting her up for adoption when she gets a place in a college in Aberdeen and plans to leave Shieldinch but when Grace develops meningitis Nicole realizes that she couldn't lose her and decides she will take Grace with her, she left in the back of a black cab to the train station.

Conor Brodie

Conor Brodie, played by Rian Gordon, is the son of Michael (Andy Clark) and the brother of Nicole (Holly Jack). He made his first on-screen appearance on 12 October 2010.^[7] ATV describes him as a "typical teenage boy".^[1]

Conor arrives in Shieldinch with Nicole. After Leo (Nick Rhys) asks Conor whether Leyla (Maryam Hamidi) had something to do with Michael quitting the army, he questions Michael asking he why he never talks about his former job. He then tells Michael that he and his friends are thinking about joining the army, but Michael disagrees. Conor shows Leo his cadet's uniform, but Michael sees and asks him if he had permission. Conor tells Michael that he forged his signature on the consent form. Michael disapproves telling Conor he is not joining cadets, but Leo says that he is proud of him.

Leo Brodie

Leo Brodie, played by Nick Rhys, is the younger brother of Michael (Andy Clark) and Gabriel (Garry Sweeney). He made his first on-screen appearance on 2 November 2010.^[9] ATV describes him as "young man about the town". Speaking of his casting, Rhys said, "Being a young man about the town, there will definitely be someone Leo takes a shine to, who that may be you will have to wait and see."^[1] Rhys later commented that Leo was not a one-dimensional character, calling him 'complicated'.^[10]

Leo arrives in Shieldinch and meets Hayley McCrone (Pamela Byrne) and overhears that she will not wear a Remembrance Day poppy because she does not want to put a hole in her cardigan. He asks her if it matters and she tells him that handing over her money is the main thing, before walking away. Leo then visits Michael and is passive with his wife Leyla (Maryam Hamidi). Leo later asks Conor (Rian John Gordon) if he thinks whether Leyla had something to do with Michael quitting the army. Before Leo returns to Afghanistan, Hayley kisses him but she pulls away admitting it was wrong. Michael receives a phone call from the army, who tell him that Leo has been injured. Later, Michael discovers that Leo will recover.

Reception

Andrea Mullaney of The Scotsman said that it was a "strange novelty" to see the Brodie family move into an empty house with their belongings, rather than taking on the previous inhabitants belongings. She commented: "So it was actually mildly refreshing to see the new family in River City walk around their new, empty house, pondering where to put their belongings when the removal van got there."^[8]

References

External links

• River City characters - Gabriel Brodie on the BBC website
• River City characters - Michael Brodie on the BBC website